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“Yes,” I say briskly. “I want to see your rings first.” I’m not wasting any time.
“Of course, sir,” he replies, leading me over to a large display case, full of rings of every design and color. “Does the lady that you are proposing to have a specific style she prefers? Or perhaps a favorite stone?”
“No,” I say, though really I don’t know. Alessio comes to have a look while Dante and Lazaro stand back by the door, making sure no one pops in when they shouldn’t be. I give Alessio a hard glare, but he ignores me.
“What about that one, dear?” he suggests brightly, pointing to a completely ridiculous ring that looks gaudy and tacky. “You said that I could have any one that I wanted, right?” he pouts, looking at me. His eyes are dancing with mirth as I stare at him. Alessio for his part doesn’t break character, and the jeweler doesn’t even lose his smile. “I’d love to see a few. Need to make sure that they go with my eyes. Since that’s the favorite part of me you love, right? Well, that and my co—”
“Finish that sentence and I’m going to shoot you right here.”
Alessio feigns shock. “But Boo Bear, I thought you said we didn’t have to hide anymore?” he continues dramatically. I hear laughter by the door but I don’t look at them, and instead of replying, I reach back and pull my gun on him, holding it steady as I aim it at his dick. Instead of getting upset, he starts to laugh and holds up his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. We really need to work on your sense of humor.”
I put the gun away, and then I turn back to the jeweler, who still looks calm as a cucumber. Though I don’t have to worry about him opening his mouth. I’ve dealt with him over the years, and the man is a vault. Not to mention each family keeps him in business with the amount of things bought over the years. I look at the case again, focusing on the rings in front of me, but my eyes go back to one ring and I point to it. “That one.”
The jeweler grabs it and brings it out for me to examine. “An excellent choice, sir. I only put it out before closing earlier, so no one has seen it yet,” he tells me with a soft smile.
The ring is stunning, with a crystal clear diamond, set in a cathedral style band with smaller diamonds along the inside and outside of the ring. It’s unique, and while beautiful, isn’t ostentatious in appearance. Exactly like my sweet little mouse. “I want this one. What do you have for wedding bands to match?” I ask him briskly, handing him back the ring. He quickly reaches back in the case and pulls out a matching band of diamonds that fits snugly against the other ring. I nod. “Wrap them up.”
“And will you need something for yourself, sir?” he asks me.
I pause. I hadn’t thought that far, but I suppose it will ensure that everyone knows I belong to her as well. “Fine,” I say briskly, following him over to another display. I quickly pick out a simple black tungsten ring with a white gold band through the middle to match Gia’s.
“What, no diamonds?” Alessio jokes. “Damn, bestie, you and I need to work on your style.”
I don’t even bother looking at him. Why encourage the fucker anymore than he already is?
“Dante, pay him,” I order as I take the rings from him and put them in my pocket.
“Hold on, I need to find a few things,” Alessio corrects, walking around the store. I narrow my eyes at him, which he ignores. “Dante, what ring are you going to get?”
Now that gives me pause. What the hell is he talking about? I glance over at my Underboss, who looks calm, while the giant of a man beside him goes still and I quickly realize what Alessio has implied. “What the hell is he talking about?” Lazaro asks carefully. “Because I hope to hell it isn’t what I think it is?”
Seems the big guy has some brains after all. Though I have to give Dante credit for not buckling under pressure. Instead, he looks at me and says, “Shall I get the car and we can leave them here for the night, Boss?”
“Fine, fine, I’ll be quick,” Alessio grumbles. “I’ll take the string of pearls and matching bracelet. Then the ruby bracelet.”
“No,” Dante says tightly.
Alessio pauses and looks back at him. “No?” he repeats slowly. “Any particular reason, Mr. Esposito?”
Dante holds his stare, and merely replies, “You heard me. The answer is no.”
Lazaro’s eyes go dark and cold. “Motherfucker, I’m going to kill you,” he seethes.
“No, you won’t,” Dante replies, looking up at him with the same expression. “Because your sister doesn’t need you interfering in her business. Any of you.” He looks back at Alessio. “And don’t think I don’t realize what you just did, and while I don’t particularly care what you say or do to me, I do care how it will affect Sofia. She’s a grown woman and can take care of herself.”
“And if any of you upset her while you’re here, he’ll have carte blanche to do whatever the hell he wants,” I add in coldly, pinning Lazaro and Alessio with a hard glare. Lazaro is seething, but says nothing.
Alessio merely holds my stare, and turns back to the jeweler. “Box it all up. The bracelet will be a gift to a much loved family member, and if someone wants to get pissy about it, then he can man up and buy her something on his own.” I can hear Dante grinding his teeth, but he wisely keeps his mouth shut.
The drive back to the house is tense, but I ignore it. Dante can handle himself, and I have something more important to see to.
When we reach the house, we walk in and I see Sofia waiting there, dressed in some pajamas and looking tired, but happy. When she sees us, she smiles, but then loses that smile when her brother glares at her and stomps off. Alessio kisses her temple and heads up toward bed, but there’s a self-satisfied smirk on his face, and I have a feeling that the shit disturber is going to cause far more drama while he’s here than not.
Fucking hell.
“Problem?” Sofia asks carefully, arching a brow at Dante expectantly.
“No problem,” Dante replies calmly. He looks at me. “I’m going to catch some sleep.” Then he grabs Sofia’s hand and pulls her out of the room.
